Thread: Best cutting deck...

I think it would be neat and would lay to rest alot of bickering back in forth about whose "brand" is the best cutting machine if we had some kind of an unbiased test...I mean lets face it the main reason we buy mowers is to cut grass. I really can't think that if a mower has "suspension" or is "priced the lowest" is the top reason why people truly buy a mower.

So how do we have an unbiased test???? Take all your top brands and have them mow a certain section of a particular consistent area.....Then have a group(I mean a big group consisting of homeowners,pros etc..)of people that have no clue what was mowed with what and have them rate each area....There you have it.

I think it would be surprising on the results....You would probably have a bunch of firm believers in their brand jumping ship.

__________________"DO YOU WANT TO KNOW WHAT'S ON MY MIND RIGHT NOW? IT AIN'T THE COFFEE IN THE KITCHEN BUT THE RAD BOY IN MY GARAGE"

Alright, now look at the logistics of this. Get all the top brands of mowers, (even then all of their decks!) do you compensate for deck size? (ie walkers, 36, 48, 52 all cut differently) Bagging or discharge? Are the decks set up the same? (spacers, spindle height, deck height etc etc.) Do all mowers have same HP? More power, better cut? What grass? Dry, wet, thick, thin, warm, cool? mowing speed? soil composition (ex sandy soil?) Mowing speed?

Essentially, what Im trying to say is that no unbiased test can ever exist. Different power, different deck setup, different operators and different conditions all effect cut. For example, my exmark metro, fixed deck. I can cut at 3" in a multitude of different ways, by moving spindle spacers, deck pitch, caster spacers, and rear axel height. Now, only one of those performs optimally for my conditions. However if I were cutting different grass, the case might be very different. No deck is better than any other really, they all cut grass, and for every place a mower cuts poorly, I can show you somewhere it is the best available.

Even further, many people can confuse good stripes and a good cut (here at least). I see guys around here who have their decks up really high, and their super high lift blades as low in the deck as possible, resulting in a TON of vacume, and amazing stripes, but realistically a very poor cut.

Wow only on here can we make something so difficult. I mentioned "consistent area"...does this mean anything to you? As far as deck size,height,hp etc....I assumed we were all bright enough to realize we would keep all this consistent as well...guess I will spell the obvious out from now on and therefore have a complete novel for each post!

I'm sure you can dice this anyway you want and find potential flaws-just remember very rarely is there ever an absolute.

__________________"DO YOU WANT TO KNOW WHAT'S ON MY MIND RIGHT NOW? IT AIN'T THE COFFEE IN THE KITCHEN BUT THE RAD BOY IN MY GARAGE"

if it were only that easy it would have been done along time ago. No matter what the product is people will always argue which is the best. Does not matter if the product is a mower, car, truck, toilet paper....

But then your "consistent area" is only a measure of THAT particular area and its conditions! what happens when that same area is wet? your results change. also, the machines are not designed consistently! Deck depth and different spindles change how many spacers you might have available, as well as caster height adjustments etc etc. If all these factors could be consistent, all the decks would be the same.

To accurately run this, you first need to achieve the impossible and eliminate ALL factors EXCEPT the deck (Good luck, you cant) THEN you must test in a variety of areas. In this industry what you want is the deck that performs acceptably in the most conditions. The best in dry grass might be the worst in wet grass, and vice versa.